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Using Opioids Safely

Transforming VA Pain Care

The Six Essentials Elements of Good Pain Care

1. Educate Veterans/families to promote self-efficacy and shared decision making; provide access to all relevant resources 2. Educate/train all team members to their discipline specific competencies, including team based care 3. Develop and integrate non-pharmacological modalities into care plans 4. Institute evidence based medication prescribing, use of pain procedures and safe opioid use (universal precautions) 5. Implement approaches for bringing the Veteran’s whole team together such as virtual pain consulting (SCAN-ECHO, e-consults, tele-health, clinical video tele-consultation and education) and for maintaining ongoing communication between team members 6. Establish metrics to monitor pain care and outcomes at both the individual level and the population level

Resources

Help AvailableGet started by learning about the pain management resources that are available to patients and providers through the VA

Explore useful pain management information, to include pain education and pain management resources. This website facilitates effective pain management by providing convenient, centralized access to resources for the provision of pain services within the VA healthcare system

Research

New research about chronic pain is helping doctors with better diagnosis and treatment. Given the high prevalence of pain and associated disability in the veteran population, research addressing the mechanisms, assessment, and management of pain has been designated as a priority by many federal funding agencies.